THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504080226
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
The Phantom Shuffle is about to begin in Hampton Roads.
No, it's not a new dance craze, although before it's over, it may be just as intricate.
Tickets go on sale Monday for ``The Phantom of the Opera,'' the show that is a sure bet to rewrite local theater history. With the first performance set for Nov. 30 in Chrysler Hall, the show may seem distant. Promoters claim, though, that the area will soon be divided into two types - those who have tickets and those who don't.
Initial tickets are available only by mail and the prices range from $16.50 to $66.50. Starting Monday, mail orders will be accepted for the announced run, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 23.
The Tony-winning musical, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. It dramatizes the tragic tale of the deformed Phantom who lurks beneath the stage of the Paris Opera, ready to unleash a reign of terror - and falling chandeliers - on its occupants.
The show itself is expected to solve other local mysteries. It will answer, once and for all, if Norfolk can sustain a long-running musical at these prices. Records will either be set or there will be an unexpected, and almost unforeseeable, disaster.
The $66.50 top-price ticket, plus a $5 charge for handling, is believed to be the highest regular admission for a musical in local history. The run may be extended to make it the longest run in Chrysler Hall history. But ``Phantom'' seldom plays to an empty seat anywhere. After five years on Broadway, it's still the most difficult ticket to get.
In order to sell out the run, the out-of-town draw will have to also be heavy. Advertising in Richmond and Eastern North Carolina has been set. If all goes according to plan, this ``Phantom'' could become a major force in boosting downtown hotels and restaurants.
The show could generate $5 million in ticket sales here, with an estimated $15 million in ancillary income (restaurants, hotels, parking, etc.), according to Bill Miller, of Cameron Mackintosh and the Really Useful Co., the show's producers.
In New York, the show had a record $18 million in advance ticket sales before the opening. A record $15.3 million was set in advance sales before the show opened at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.
The show is believed to have a two-week holdover period but promoters are keeping mum on that. Foreseeably, the Norfolk booking could be held over to a six-week run, but tickets go on sale Monday for only the Nov. 30-Dec. 23 dates. ILLUSTRATION: ``PHANTOM OF THE OPERA'' TICKETS
How much: $66.50, $46.50, and $21.50 for Friday and Saturday
evenings; $61.50, $41.50 and $16.50 for other shows.
How to get them: Mail-order forms are available, beginning Monday,
at Scope box office, Norfolk City Hall Information Booth, and
Blockbuster Music stores or by calling 441-2764. To order for
groups of 20, call 623-0986 or 1-800-226-3446.
When is it: 8 p.m. Nov. 30 and 31; 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 1; 2 and 7:30
p.m. Dec. 3; 8 p.m. Dec. 5-8; 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 9; 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 10; 8 p.m. Dec. 18-20; 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 21; 8 p.m. Dec. 22; 2
and 8 p.m. Dec. 23. Orderers must specify two alternate dates, as
well as their first choice.
by CNB